FEATURED: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel - Hokusai ‘Kirifuri Waterfall’ edition

2021 is the evidently the year of the Reverso. We've seen the beautiful floral interpretations of the Reverso one, that gorgeous display of digital hours enhanced by a celestial decor, the Tribute Nonantième
and of course the high-complication of Watches & Wonders 2021, the Quadriptyque. To further commemorate this iconic timepiece and to celebrates their ongoing cultural exchange between Asia and Europe, Jaeger Le-Coultre has introduced an exquisite new Reverso Tribute Enamel timepiece.

The oldest and most delicate of the decorative arts no longer hold any secrets for this Grande Maison in the Vallée de Joux. Enamelling, engraving and gem-setting are a set of virtuoso crafts that it associates at will in its horological and artistic creations. A splendid embodiment of the love of fine details that has always characterised Jaeger-LeCoultre, the art of miniature enamel painting dedicates its absolute beauty to highlighting the watchmaking feats of the Manufacture – one of the rare brands to enhance its wristwatches with the full range of traditional fine watchmaking embellishments.

Embodying La Grande Maison’s creativity and its vision of the world of art and culture, the new timepiece is testament to the talent and skill of the artisans working in the Métiers Rares® (Rare Handcrafts) atelier within the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre.

For this gorgeous new addition to the Reverso family, Jaeger-LeCoultre has brought together European craftsmanship with Japanese art the reverse side of the case celebrates Eastern art with an enamel miniature painting that reproduces a woodblock print of Kirifuri Waterfall made by Katsushika Hokusai in the early 1830s.

Needless to say, the decoration of this timepiece came with it's challenges. Let's start with the caseback. Now imagine reproducing an artwork measuring 37 x 24.5 cm, capturing every detail in perfect scale, including the group of tiny human figures at the base of the waterfall onto a surface that is a little more than one-tenth the size of the original . A mammoth task in itself. To express the power and beauty of the water as it cascades 100 metres down the mountainside Hokusai, the enameller had not only to mimic this perfectly but also to create the illusion of the woodblock printing technique, which produces a specific effect entirely different from enamelling. A particular challenge is that multi-coloured prints require the use of multiple woodblocks, with each different colour applied in turn – and there is the added challenge of reproducing the bokashi effect of subtly nuanced and graduated colours as seen in the original. To achieve these illusions, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s master enameller had to develop her own technique.

Moving on to dial. To echo the effect of moving water, the dial is decorated with an unusual, wavy guilloché. Executed by hand,  the visual effect of the waves is amplified by layers of translucent grand feu enamel in a soft shade of green that exactly matches a detail of the painting on the caseback. Following multiple firings to build up the enamel layers, the final challenge is the faultless application of the indexes (which requires tiny holes to be drilled through the pristine surface of the enamel) and the transfer of the chemin de fer minutes register.